Hokey-Pokey Disaster

One of our science assignments was to teach a lesson with some kind of science experiment. We were in groups of four, so Anna, Jess, Christine, and I decided to focus all of our lessons around making hokey-pokey. Sheryl had told us that it is a common experiment in schools because so many things can be taught from it. Jess used it to teach chemical reactions (when you add baking soda to the sugar/golden syrup mixture it froths and bubbles like crazy), Christine used it to teach changes of state (solid to liquid to gas), Anna used it to energy transfer and equilibrium, and I used it to teach about igneous rocks (we compared the hokey-pokey to igneous rocks to gain more understanding of the properties and characteristics of igneous rocks). Part of the reason we chose these, obviously, was so that we could eat the hokey-pokey afterwards. Sadly, we burned four of the five batches, and the one that didn’t burn still had crystallized sugar instead of melted sugar…disaster. And such a disappointment. The funny thing is, our Professor Ian Milne LOVED that it didn’t work. He was absolutely fascinated with my first batch—the most burnt—because “it’s just beautiful.” It actually was pretty cool though. It had a swirly, glassy outside texture and a bubbly, pumice-like inside texture. Ian was excited because this burnt batch made a much better igneous rock than even the perfect batch of hokey-pokey would have made. Funny how that works.

It's pretty obvious, but the one on the right is the most burnt, but most igneous-y. It gets better as you go around counter clockwise, ending with the only one that tasted good. We're going to go ahead and blame it on the faulty stovetop we had to use. I mean, it definitely wasn't our lack of hokey-pokey making skills ;)

I had a monumental realization today: tomorrow is my last day of class. Ever. I have been going to school since I was five years old. I am now 21, meaning I’ve been going to school for 16 years! I’ve probably spent more time in school than doing anything else. And tomorrow is my last day. Ever. Now, I know still have the practicum in a few weeks, but that’s different because I’m going into the schools and teaching. And I still have my internship, but that’s different too because I’ll be the teacher and I’ll be getting paid. AH! I feel so weird. I should be excited—and really, I’m thrilled—but it also is a little scary. I’m about to be thrown out into the “real” world with a “real” job. Absolutely crazy. Exciting, but crazy. Hope I'll be ready :)